My Top 8 books read in 2014

In no particular order. 

The Climb - Chris Froome

The autobiography of the 2013 Tour de France winner is an excellent read. A lot of detail on his childhood and formative years before he turned pro. An intelligent, thoughtful and enjoyable book. 

The Litigators - John Grisham

One of the masters of the legal thriller, my exposure to Grisham is limited to one previous book - The King of Torts. That particular book didn't blow me away but The Litigators was a welcome surprise. 

Interesting characters, snappy dialogue and a fast-paced plot all add upto a really enjoyable read. 

The Moaning of Life - Karl Pilkington

Excellent. Read this after watching the series on Sky 1 and it was just as funny. In many ways the book is better than the tv series as Karl has more time to expand his ideas and lay down his "out there" views. 

I love a good travel book and you couldn't wish for a better narrator than Karl. Put him in any situation and he will always surprise you with what he does and how he thinks. 

Nice one. 

Blood on the Altar - Tobias Young

True crime story of an Italian man who murdered a 16 year girl.  Years later he moved to England and murdered another woman. 

Intersting crime case spanning 20 years.

Beyond the Horizon - Richard Parks

I rated this book 5 out of 5 on Goodreads.com.

Richard Parks is a remarkable extreme-environment athlete, and the humility of the man is laid bare on every page of this incredible narrative. 
What a guy. Total admiration.

Too Much Information - Dave Gorman

One of my favourite authors, this book sees Dave on fine form as he casts his discerning eye over advertising and social media. 

Fun, frivolity & high jinks all round. 

A la Mod: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France - Ian Moore

Easy to read memoir of an English stand-up comedian who moves to live in France. It's middle of the road fare but there's enough warm-hearted humour to keep you entertained. 

Three Sheets To The Wind: One Man's Quest For The Meaning Of Beer - Pete Brown

A travel book about beer taking in countries such as America, Belgium, Japan & Germany.  It's a great book to dip in-and-out of. 

Honourable mentions:

Oasis: The Truth - Tony McCarroll

The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia - Michael Booth

A Tap on the Window - Linwood Barclay 

Get Her Off the Pitch!: How Sport Took  Over My Life - Lynne Truss

 

14 games deleted in 21 days

Quick review of the 14 ios games I've deleted since 18 August. 

80 Days. Completed on first play. No desire to replay game.

Swing Copters. Insane difficulty.

Bike Baron. Boring

Wordrix. Boring

Star Realms. Text, graphics much too small for iphone. Too much luck.

Micromon. Like Pokemon without the good bits.

Motorsport Manager. Bored to bits. Didn't even complete 1 race. 

The King of Fighters '98. Virtual controls obscure action. 

Boxpop. Nice game. For about 30 minutes. 

Hextris. See game above.

Epic Eric. One dimensional puzzle action game. Hopeless. 

Glue Knight. Annoyingly difficult. Too difficult. Not fun. It was fun deleting the game.

The Quest Lite. Should have given it more than 10 minutes but got bored.

Starbase Orion. Cost £5.49. Gave it 3 hrs play. 4X games not for me. 

Lost Yeti - Step to it.

Tips for the Step Challenge. 

Lost Yeti is fantastic puzzle game on ios created by Gionathan Pesaresi. If you're reading this then chances are you have already played the game. If not get onto the App Store to check it out. Or head to metacritic to read the glowing reviews. 

The reason for writing these tips is to encourage players to embrace and attempt the step challenge. I'm currently ranked no.1 player in the World across all three chapters. It's not because I'm some super-skilled player; it's down to simple practice. And a lack of challengers, which is hardly surprising when there are 1000s of ios games all vying for our time and attention. 

After completing all 60 levels and obtaining all the ice lollies I was keen to test my skills on the step challenge.

The step challenge is all about completing each level in the shortest number of steps or Perfect Run. The combined number of steps in each of the 20 levels for each chapter give you a ranking on the Game Center leaderboard. 

1. Nowhere to run

There are essentially 2 types of level in Lost Yeti. The first is the "free runner" whereby the Yeti will continue to move until he dies or reaches the exit.

The second is the "blockable" where the Yeti can be blocked so he can't move or has limited movement. 

It is generally a good idea to block in the Yeti as soon as possible to stop him moving. Then the path to the exit can be created ready for when the Yeti is released. 

2. A to B 

The shortest route or Perfect Run to the exit is more often the most obvious one. If it looks like the level can be done in 8 steps then it probably can. 

3. Broken Lines

When you select an object within a slidable row or column broken white lines will appear until you de-select or move the object. The Yeti will turn or stop if it hits a broken line. The same applies to the monsters. 

Effective use of the "broken line" is crucial to achieving good and Perfect runs on a lot of levels. 

This can be important on "free runner" levels when instead of letting Yeti run it's course and hit walls, you can shorten the run with smart slider movement. 

4. Flying Start 

The first second of a level will often determine whether you get a good run or a bad run. Whether it be blocking in your Yeti or setting up the exit strategy a fast start is crucial. 

A good example is level 20 of Snowy Hills . The first time I completed this level it took me about 100+ steps, and to be honest I think I fluked the level. My current record is 23 steps - which isn't no fluke. As a "free runner" level it's crucial to get a fast start. 

5. Block them monsters

The route to the exit is often made more perilous by those pesky monsters. Blocking them off so they can't move or are a trapped in an area can create routes for good runs. 

It's not always necessary or even possible to do this but moving monsters introduce timing issues - which can be a real headache. Ratini on Gloomy Cave is the master of upsetting best laid plans. 

6. A Clockwork Yeti

A Flying Start (4) is usually just the first of a series of careful moves that must be made to get a good run. The monsters all behave in a predictable manner and if they can't be blocked you'll have to perfect your timing. Don't wait for clear routes to appear. Anticipate when a clear route will occur. This usually involves setting your Yeti on a route towards a monster with the knowledge the monster will turn out of the Yeti's path (or won't be there when Yeti arrives). 

Anticipating clear routes is probably the most advanced tip here. 

A good example is level 12 of Mighty Glacier. Yeti starts off blocked into a space but he's still moving and racking up the steps. The level has 2 monsters and a corridor design. Blocking off the monsters and anticipating the clear route is key to getting a good run. 

Summary 

As you can see from my tips there's nothing particular super-skillful about what I've done to top the rankings. 

It's just about being focused, trying to get the perfect run on every level and practice. Try, try and try again and someday you could be the World's Best. 

I reckon I've done the perfect run on 80% of the game, so there's plenty of room for Step improvement. 

Armed with these tips you should be able to get less than 300 steps on Snowy Hills.

Less than 250 steps will take some more dedication. 

Less than 200 steps on Snowy Hills is a challenge. Do that and you become a Lost Yeti Step Master. 

Good luck on the Snowy Hills, in the Gloomy Cave and on the Mighty Glacier. 

Michael

twitter: parsley76

<update> On 12 March 2014 a landmark moment in Lost Yeti history. Achieved less than 200 steps on all 3 chapters.